A great WordPress.com site

Conflict Oriented Journalism:

Conflict oriented journalism refers to daily news that attempts to draw attention to controversial issues that impact the problems and struggles of a city.

One example of conflict oriented journalism can be found here: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/editorials/harper-must-go-the-police-chief-is-no-longer-serving-pittsburgh-674260/

The article, titled “Harper Must Go” relays how Pittsburgh’s police chief, Nate Harper, has too much personal baggage to properly accomplish his job, and is not fit to hold the position as head of the city’s police force, since he is under so much scrutiny after ethics issues outside of his job.

This story exemplifies conflict oriented journalism because the writer is taking an adversarial stance against a public official, and while observing the city’s institutions, sheds light on a controversial issue to better expose information to the society.

This genre of journalism is important for maintaining a healthy democracy by informing citizens through shedding light that would not have otherwise been seen. This allows citizens to be free and self-governing as they can now be more aware of public and other elected officials and the policies and decisions that impact their lives every single day.